Resistance to slavery and the abolition movement

Who's who in the story

Five people, one thing each.

From the Somerset case to 1848

Tap an event to open it. Watch the long gap between the two Acts.

What you need to know

• For much of the 18th century, slavery was a cornerstone of the British Empire's economy, and many elites grew very rich from it.
• Abolition wasn't one event. It was a response to a number of events and ever-growing public demand.
• In 1772 the Somerset case, argued on habeas corpus, meant James Somerset couldn't legally be considered enslaved in England. It didn't abolish enslavement in the Empire, but opposition to the slave trade grew.
• Have a goYour classmate Sam announces: 'The Somerset case in 1772 ended slavery in the whole British Empire. Done!' Is Sam right?

  No. The case did not abolish enslavement in the Empire.

  Somerset could not legally be considered enslaved in England, but what the case really did was inspire a growth in opposition to the slave trade.

• Britons criticised the Middle Passage, and the Zong massacre of 1781 caused outrage. Equiano's autobiography educated the public.
• Wilberforce, an MP, led the official campaign. His first speech was in 1789, but real success took nearly 20 years.
• Some Britons compared poor working conditions at home with life on plantations, and more people joined the abolitionist movement.
• Have a goHave a go before you look: why might someone working in a poor job at home start to care about enslaved people on plantations?

  Both systems enriched British elites while exploiting the people doing the work.

  That comparison led more people to join the abolitionist movement, which is one way pressure from ordinary people grew.

• Many Britons saw the war with France as freedom against tyranny, so enslavement looked like tyranny too.
• The Haitian Revolution (1791 to 1804) was a successful revolt against the French elites ruling Saint-Domingue, and it created independent Haiti.
• Have a goQuick pick: was the Haitian Revolution a revolt against British rule, or against French elites?

  Against the French elites who ruled Saint-Domingue.

  It was Britain's fear of where such a revolt might spread, not a rising against British rule, that made it matter to the abolition story.

• Britain feared revolts like the one in Jamaica in 1795. Failing to capture Saint-Domingue in 1798 strengthened abolitionism.
• The 1807 Act abolished the trade and freed nobody. The 1833 Act outlawed enslavement, and owners were compensated.

The big picture

Britain abolished the slave trade in 1807 and outlawed enslavement in 1833, 26 years later. Neither came from one hero or one event. A court case, public outrage, campaigners, comparisons with workers at home, a war with France and the successful Haitian Revolution all pushed together, and several made each other stronger.

⚠ Watch out

Mixing up Napoleon's two big moments. He reinstated slavery in 1802, and that really happened. What failed was his attempt to recapture Saint-Domingue, which became independent Haiti in 1804.

Memory hook

Think rope, not thread. Campaigners, a court case, public outrage, a war and a revolt were strands twisted together, and a rope is much harder to break than any one strand. (And for the Acts: 1807 stops the trade, 1833 outlaws enslavement, 26 years apart.)

Check yourself

Close the page. Name four pressures that pushed Britain towards the 1807 Act, then explain in a sentence or two how two of them made each other stronger.